SINGAPORE – My Paper and The New Paper (TNP) will merge to form a revamped TNP that will be distributed free from December, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) announced on Monday (Oct 17).

The new TNP, which will combine the strengths of both products, will be available at existing distribution points including MRT stations. It will continue to be available online.

The new TNP will be launched on Dec 1, and available for free from Monday to Saturday at existing distribution points, including MRT stations, SPH said yesterday. The paper will also be available online.

Superintendent (Supt) Jessica Ang, who is in her 30s, has been a regular on-screen spokesman for the Singapore Police Force, appearing in multiple productions such as RazorTV’s “i-Witness”, Crimewatch and C.L.I.F. 2, 3 and 4.

Acting as Nico Phua, an investigation officer with the Special Investigation Section (SIS) under Rui En in C.L.I.F. 2, 3 and 4, she felt that some of the cases she had to handle in the show were quite relatable.

She said: “I was previously an SIS Officer as well. And in C.L.I.F. 4, we had to handle an incident on a victim’s eyes being gouged out based on a real-life case. I was in the incident unit handling it.”

She cannot wait for the next season of C.L.I.F.

Supt Ang said: “There are still many areas of police work such as casino crime not showcased, and it would be good if we could venture into those areas in the next season.”

Keeping up with speedy Li Nanxing

Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Madeline Low, 30s, has been a regular on the show since C.L.I.F. 3.

She hopes there will be a C.L.I.F. 5 or a similar drama serial on the police in the near future.

On her future participation, she jokingly said: “If Jessica (Superintendent Jessica Ang) acts, I will act as well!”

Having acted in the same show as veteran actor Li Nanxing in Heroes in Black when he was just 11 years old, Staff Sergeant Benjamin Cheah, 26, is back on set with him in C.L.I.F. 4.

C.L.I.F. stands for Courage, Loyalty, Integrity and Fairness and is airing on Channel 8 on weekdays at 9pm.

When The New Paper spoke to Staff Sgt Cheah over the phone, the community policing officer said he was impressed with Li, 51, for being so patient with him.

Staff Sgt Cheah, who plays Xie Zhao Quan, an investigation officer (IO) from Jurong Division, said: “I had to film this hospital scene with Rui En and Li Nanxing, but I was super nervous and got my lines wrong a few times.

“Instead of getting annoyed, Li Nanxing actually came over and taught me what to say and how to act.”

Li Nanxing says he felt jittery handling the four-month-old because she was so delicate.

Even though local actor Li Nanxing famously played a father of quadruplets on the 2003 Channel 8 TV series Baby Boom, it was not as scary as handling a four-month-old infant for the police drama C.L.I.F. 4, which starts next month.

Even after all these years, the 51-year-old still does not have the “baby touch”.

What is ironic is that his co-star Rui En does. Ironic because she said, before filming for C.L.I.F. 4 started, that she would rather not work with babies because “they can be difficult (and) do not care that the camera is rolling”, though she later retracted her comments.

In C.L.I.F. 4, which premieres on Sept 6 at 9pm, Li reprises his role as Wei Lantian, assistant superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department and the husband of Rui En’s inspector character Huang Zhijie.

This season, they become first-time parents and have a four-month-old girl.

At the show’s press conference yesterday, Li told M in a mix of Mandarin and English: “(In Baby Boom), the quadruplets were older. (This baby) was very fragile because she was only four months old, so we had to be patient with her. I felt nervous handling her, especially when she cried. I panicked.”

He joked: “Rui En told me, ‘Can you treat her more gently?’ Whenever Rui En carried the baby, she would be calm, but when I carried her, she would be crying.”

Rui En did not attend the press conference because she is on leave. According to Lianhe Zaobao, she is overseas for a month to visit her father, who emigrated from Singapore years ago.

On Rui En’s 7kg weight gain for her previous TV drama If Only I Could and the fact that she still appeared chubby in C.L.I.F. 4, Li said: “I think it suits her mum role (here) because it is after her confinement period, where she has to take care of the baby.”

Although they have been paired up for three seasons of C.L.I.F., Li said they are not close outside of work.

While in the middle of filming C.L.I.F. 4 in April, the 35-year-old local actress was involved in a high-profile accident.

The episode put her in a bad light with the public, as many were unhappy about the way she handled things initially.

GAVE HER SPACE

Li himself was infamously involved in a drink driving accident in 1997. He was fined $4,000 and given a 30-month driving suspension. He did not offer Rui En advice on how to cope because his case was different from her situation.

He said: “What I did was to give her space to calm herself down because it happened suddenly. We needed to give her time to process and reflect on her own… because everyone makes mistakes.

“I could tell that she was very sad on set (after the accident), but we just had to leave her alone.”

Li said Rui En was still a “professional on set” and knew how to separate her personal problem from work.

He also commended the way she apologised and bowed on stage at the Star Awards Show 1 in April, saying: “I think it is up to the individual (on how he handles his own situation), but for her to (do that), I could tell that she was sincere.”

At yesterday’s press conference for Channel 8 drama If Only I Could, the 35-year-old Rui En looked calm and prepared.

She told The New Paper: “I’m feeling much better and I’ve been taking care of myself after (suffering from gastric) at Star Awards Show 2.

“I’m happier because I’ve realised that there are a lot of people who love me unconditionally and I can’t ask for more than that.”

If Only I Could, which premieres on May 31 at 9pm, stars Rui En as a frumpy auntie and a mother of one, married to Andie Chen’s character.

She travels back in time to 2006 in hopes of rewriting her life.

When asked what aspect of her own life she would do over if she was given a chance, Rui En said: “I would probably not have chosen to be an actress. My speech at Star Awards Show 1 was all about that and I think I have explained a lot.”

HELPFUL

Rui En is moving on from the episode by filming the Channel 8 cop drama C.L.I.F. 4 and Li Nanxing, who plays her on-screen husband, has been especially helpful.

Li himself was involved in a drink driving accident in 1997. He was fined $4,000 and given a 30-month driving suspension.

Rui En said: “In general, work is always something that I can immerse myself in and it helps me forget whatever is going on.

At a media session in March, Rui En had told TNP: “Three things I don’t like working with are babies, animals and calefare.”

Now, she takes back every word after falling in love with her young co-star.

“You just need to find the right one to play the role,” she said with a laugh.

In the meantime, Rui En has weightier matters to deal with.

She willingly gained 7kg for If Only I Could, which reportedly wrapped up before Chinese New Year. But she has had difficulty shedding the weight.

So she said it was the last time she would make such a sacrifice for a show. However, her weight gain has made her more aware of fat- and body-shaming.

“I actually felt ashamed initially, even though I knew that it was for the show. But then I realised, ‘Why should I be ashamed?’

“Why should women be judged by their weight, the size of the dress they wear, their age or how much plastic surgery they have done?